Ex-Aztec pleads not guilty in alleged attack

Former San Diego State offensive lineman Lance Louis has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from his alleged attack against an SDSU teammate in a team meeting room in November.

His next court date is scheduled for December. Louis, 24, plays with the NFL's Chicago Bears after being drafted by the team in April. He was not required to attend his arraignment in San Diego. His plea was entered by fax from his attorney.

Louis is accused of striking Nick Sandford, a current SDSU safety, causing a concussion, broken eardrum and fractured cheekbone. The incident allegedly happened after Sandford poked Louis' behind with a stick in the locker room that day.

“I'm actually kind of surprised the city attorney filed charges after all this time,” said Kerry Steigerwalt, Louis' attorney. “We're entering the plea of not guilty and hoping we can work this out the right way.”

The charge carries a maximum one-year jail term and fines of up to $10,000 for a conviction. Because the charge was filed after Louis entered the NFL, the case will be reviewed under the NFL's personal conduct policy, which could make him subject to punishment by the league.

The case raised questions about how former SDSU head coach Chuck Long dealt with it. The incident happened Nov. 5 but wasn't reported to campus police Nov. 20, according to police records. Sandford's father said Long told him he wanted to keep the incident “in the Aztecs family” and private to avoid hurting Louis' draft status. Long apparently didn't discipline Louis, who started all three games after the incident while Sandford sat out with injuries.

SDSU's Violence-Free Workplace Policy states that “employees are responsible for immediately notifying their appropriate administrator and University Police of violence on University owned or leased property.”

Long, who still works at SDSU doing “projects and analysis,” said in a radio interview after the incident that Sandford suffered the concussion in practice. He has not returned calls seeking comment.